30 July 2012

Clare Appleyard: Shine in your niche

Clare Appleyard, Katannuta Diamonds

Clare Appleyard had a simple dream – to escape her cubicle-bound desk job. With this in mind, she took a leap into entrepreneurship in June 2007, starting Katannuta
Diamonds from a spare room in her home, with a R20 000 investment, manufacturing bespoke wedding rings, engagement rings and diamond and gemstone jewellery to order.

Have you always been entrepreneurial?

It’s something that’s grown over time. While I’d always harboured the dream to own a
sports shop, going into business wasn’t a family trait, nor was it something that my family encouraged. It
was a case of go to school, go to university and get a corporate job. So I did,
but always felt there was something more to be achieved.

What
were you doing before starting your business?

I
was working as a geologist at Anglo American, having moved from De Beers a year
before that. A culmination of job dissatisfaction combined with some major life
challenges forced me to re-assess and take the plunge. It was a challenging
time, but ultimately leaving a corporate job has set me free in the truest
sense of the word.

What
kind of planning went into starting the venture?

Very
little planning went into starting Katannuta Diamonds! I was that desperate to
quit my job that I jumped with absolutely no safety net. The initial Katannuta
concept was confused and complicated, as was our website and we had way too
many “divisions” focusing on servicing different market needs. We never applied
for funding, so were never forced to write a proper business plan. We hacked
out a couple of plans, but never stuck to them and never updated them as our
concept evolved. Ultimately, for us, a business plan was not necessary at all,
but, if you need to apply for funding, it’s probably a necessary evil. If
you’re boot-strapping your way, don’t bother.

How
does a new entrepreneur find business leads and profit from them?

We
spent a lot of time connecting with people on small business websites and going to
networking events and we discovered that people on these websites and at these
events were not our customers. You can’t ignore the power of social media
nowadays, and a “Google friendly” website is absolutely critical. Word-of-mouth
is tremendously powerful, so make sure all your friends and family know what
you do. Our business leads are split between referrals and Internet-generated
enquiries. We’ve found that advertising is expensive, over-rated and provides
little or no return on investment.

How
did you figure out what makes you unique from everyone else in your market and
how have you leveraged that difference?

We
spent an inordinate amount of time trying to be everything to everybody, and we
learnt that if you’re marketing to everybody, you’re marketing to nobody. It
took me a long time to find my niche market for Katannuta Diamonds and it was a
well-timed question from a marketing friend that helped me realise I was on the
wrong track. Look at where your best profit for the least effort comes from,
and make that your niche selling point. Focus on what you are truly good at and
develop that market. If customers are complimenting you on a particular aspect
of your product/service, that’s probably your best indication of your unique
selling point (USP).

How
did you figure out what to charge?

If
your product is something concrete – as in the case of jewellery, for instance – logically, you want to take your expenses for that item and add a particular
profit percentage, perhaps in accordance with industry standards. I received a
lot of guidance from my wholesale suppliers regarding mark-ups, what is an
“acceptable” profit margin and what average retail mark-ups are. This has
allowed me to gauge a standard mark-up that still allows me to beat retail
prices. If your product is a service, it’s a lot tougher – because you’re
investing predominantly time and you need to figure out what your time is
worth. Again, look at competitors and
colleagues and use their guidelines if necessary.

What
was your most epic fail in the early days?

Perhaps
I’ve got my rose-tinted glasses on, but I don’t remember an epic fail. The
biggest mistake I’d say, which stemmed from ignorance on websites more than anything
else, was forking out R20 000 for a website which looked great, but wasn’t
search engine optimised (SEO) and generated no traffic. Two years later we completely
overhauled the website, for a fraction of the cost, and haven’t looked back
since.

What
are the two biggest/most common mistakes that new entrepreneurs make in their
first three years of business?

Procrastination
or lack of action and not being clear on what problem their business will solve.

How
do you keep yourself motivated?

Knowing
that there’s no way I could ever return to the traffic jams, 9-to-5s, policies and
procedures, red tape and corporate bull that rules most people’s lives – the
thought of that is motivation enough!

Did
you have a mentor?

I
started off with a mentor in the diamond industry in my very early days and he
taught me the value of honesty, integrity and loyalty in the industry. Diamonds
can be a dirty business and you’ve got to build solid relationships. Mentors
can provide invaluable guidance and assistance if you find the correct person.

How
long does it take for a venture to get off the ground, in your experience?

It’s
almost impossible to say how long it will take. Ventures that have little
capital investment can provide a return early on. Ventures that required a
massive capital injection may take years to turn a profit. If you’re growing
steadily – not necessarily turning a profit – you know you’re on the right
track. One of my current mentors uses the phrase: “Pay attention. Get excited.
Never quit.” I refuse to quit.

In
your opinion, is it ever alright to give up on a dream?

Not
at all. The only people who have ever made a difference in the world are those
that have refused to quit on their dream. If you do, you’ve joined the ranks of
the 97% of the population who are just moving through life in a comatose state.
Make sure your dream is big enough to fire you up that you won’t ever want to
quit.

If
you could give yourself any advice back then, what are your top 5 wisdoms?

*
Don’t wait for everything to be perfect – any action is better than no action!

* Find a mentor or person you consider successful as early on as possible to
guide you.

* Identify your niche as early as possible and focus on being great in that area.

* Ensure that your website uses a content management system (CMS) that you have
full control of.